


Worst Kept Secret

by KeybladeRiku



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 02:05:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9412988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeybladeRiku/pseuds/KeybladeRiku
Summary: Dia Kurosawa and Hanamaru Kunikida have started dating, with only one problem; they haven't yet told Dia's younger sister and Hanamaru's best friend, Ruby.





	

“Mmm…”

The girl groaned as she stretched herself awake. Inconsistent rays of sunlight filtered into the room as the curtains were carried by a light breeze that worked its way through the open window. As her senses slowly came to with the rest of her, she smelled something vaguely sweet. The realization of the scent was accompanied with the realization that her face was buried in someone else’s hair; that her arms were wrapped lovingly around someone else, keeping them close in both a loving and protective embrace. She sighed, placing a soft kiss on the back of the other girl’s head.

“How on earth did I end up big spoon..?” she wondered casually as she tried to slowly pull back without waking her partner.

“Stay…” Dia Kurosawa muttered, softly, rousing herself from sleep as she gripped her lover’s arms and prevented her from getting up, kissing them tenderly.

“Dia, please,” Maru giggled at the light brush of her girlfriend’s lips on her arms, “I have to get up before Ruby notices I’m gone.” 

Dia sighed, releasing her hold on Hanamaru so that she could pull away from their snuggled up situation. As far as she was concerned, it was likely that Ruby already knew and that, if she didn’t, she didn’t care. Maru, on the other hand, wanted to wait as long as possible to tell her; she supposed there was some deep-seeded fear that their relationship would be rejected. Ruby’s opinion was important to both Dia and Hanamaru, so it was likely that if she didn’t condone it, neither would accept to continue being together.

With one last, light kiss to Dia’s cheek, Maru rose from their bed and tip-toed quietly back to Ruby’s room. She snuck in with the quiet ease of experience; it had, after all, been a few times now that she’d done this. She paused in the doorway after closing it, observing the bundled up figure sleeping there. It moved with an even, steady rise and fall. Good, that meant that Ruby was still asleep, having no idea that Maru had slipped away in the middle of the night. 

It had been like this for a few weeks now, ever since Dia Kurosawa and Hanamaru Kunikida had begun their relationship. Hanamaru would come sleep over at the Kurosawa house, something completely normal given her friendship with Ruby. Once they’d gone to bed and she was certain Ruby was sleeping, Maru would get up and silently sneak over to Dia’s room so they could, at the very least, spend the night together. It was, to the both of them, some small reprieve from the torturous fact that they couldn’t be seen together, that they felt they couldn’t tell anyone about them. 

With a quiet sigh, lamenting her situation, Maru went to sleep. 

The two girls woke the next morning to the sound of a door sliding open with practiced noise and emphasis. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Maru looked up and saw Dia standing there, a victorious smile on her face. Knowing the process almost by heart, she reached over and nudged Ruby awake before Dia could start loudly declaring that it was morning. She did it anyway.

“Wake up, it’s morning,” she announced loudly, barely concealing a laugh as she watched Ruby and Hanamaru come to consciousness ever so slowly, “breakfast is soon, so go get yourselves ready to embrace the day!”

Ruby groaned, mumbling almost incomprehensible complaints about the cruelty of her big sis as she trudged out of the room. It made Hanamaru laugh, because the entire thing all seemed so rehearsed. It was, she supposed, what happened when the daily routine was the same; everyone knows their role and plays it to perfection. Resigning herself to the life she’ll now be a part of, being both Ruby’s best friend and Dia’s girlfriend, she began to make her way out of the room. 

Before she could, however, Dia pushed her back into it with a casual glance behind her. Ruby was still walking down the hall, oblivious, vigorously trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom. Hanamaru was guided up against the wall by Dia’s gentle hand as she leaned in and pressed her lips against Maru’s. The kiss was deep, with Dia leaning into it, and Maru being unable to resist given that the wall was behind her. Not that she’d want to pull away, anyway, as she smiled into the kiss and grabbed the collar of Dia’s top, holding her in place as she kissed her back.

“I love you,” Dia murmured tenderly against Maru’s lips as she broke the kiss moments later. Gods, they both wished they could have kept that up for an eternity. 

“I love you too, zura,” Maru giggled as she kindly pushed Dia, “now can I go get ready for school before Ruby starts asking questions?”

“Of course,” Dia said, laughing.

Gods, that laugh. It was so pure, so happy that it made Hanamaru’s heart flutter. She was struck by the obvious contrast between Dia months ago, before they’d join Aqours, and Dia now. The girl whose heart had been warmed by music and even further thawed out by the spark of love between them. She sighed happily at the thought as she joined Ruby in the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for the day ahead.

Everything else, it seemed, passed by at a snail’s pace. Maru couldn’t even find excitement when the lunch bell rang; she’d get to see Dia, she knew, but they’d have to act distant. Maru would eat with Ruby and Ruby would eat with Dia, a daily routine they’ve had since they first started school. A routine that Hanamaru was able to endure without issue when her love was unrequited. Now that they were lovers, however, Maru had to resist the urge to reach out, touch her. She lamented the fact that they hadn’t yet told Ruby, that neither of them could work up the courage to do so.

The rest of the day, and the week following it, went by without event. The couple would sneak kisses or cuddles in between classes, in the rare moments in which they could be together without Ruby’s constant presence. It wasn’t that they didn’t want her around, of course; both girls felt a deep, profound love for the red-haired angel. Neither would have ever wished her away for the sole sake of spending time together, though they couldn’t help any stray thoughts along those lines.

“Dia!” Hanamaru called after Friday’s practice.

The older girl turned, smiling sweetly, for all the world looking like a respected elder dignifying her junior, rather than a devoted lover. They felt some degree of guilt about the plan they’d devised to have Maru spend another weekend at the Kurosawa house, but they didn’t let it show as she ran up to her. 

“I’m having trouble getting the steps for the dance down,” Maru lied, panting from exhaustion. “I was wondering if I could come over this weekend and run through them with you?”

Normally, this would have seemed odd; it’s not like Dia was the choreographer or the best dancer in the group. However, due to the nature of Hanamaru’s relationship with Ruby and, thus, her connection with Dia, it wouldn’t be as unusual as it seems on the surface. They did feel a little sneaky doing this; Maru had, after all, memorized the steps almost perfectly and simply needed more practice rather than instruction. 

“I’m okay with it, provided she is,” Dia said, jerking her chin towards Ruby, who was coming up behind Hanamaru.

Before she could turn to look at her, Maru found herself locked in a hug as Ruby jumped her from behind, giggling cheerfully. She couldn’t help but smile, knowing full well how shy Ruby was in general. The fact that she could be so emotionally and physically open with Maru was an indicator of their friendship…yet another reason that she feared letting her in on her and her sister’s little secret. If she didn’t accept it, if she shunned Hanamaru because of it, it would likely break Maru’s heart.

“You know I wouldn’t ever say no to time with Maru, sis!” Ruby announced gleefully.

“Sometimes, I worry about you, zura,” Hanamaru sighed woefully, though she couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

A majority of the night was spent keeping up the façade; they launched into dance practice almost the moment they got home, followed by dinner, followed by more practice. If they were going to come here to improve, Dia declared when they arrived, then she wasn’t going to accept anything less than perfection. By the end of the night, Maru wasn’t sure what she felt more: regret over using this particular ruse or excitement over her upcoming night cuddles with Dia. 

With a yawn, Ruby stretched out, deciding that it was time for bed. Hanamaru and Dia shared a knowing smile before parting ways; Dia to her own room, Hanamaru to Ruby’s where she’d be staying, as usual. The girls switched out into their sleeping clothes, Maru making a big show of changing slowly, an indicator of her exhaustion. She plopped down, faking a yawn as she smiled innocently at Ruby.

“Isn’t big sis so nice?” Ruby giggled as she free-fell onto the bed, “she really didn’t need to waste her rare free time helping us, but she did.”

There was a hint of admiration in her voice; Hanamaru casually wondered if, perhaps, some part of her love and respect for Dia was derivative of Ruby’s. The two always spoke so fondly of one another, though she supposed that that was to be expected. Ruby was always so vocal about how much she adored Dia, how she was always there to guide and correct Ruby when she felt a little lost. On the other hand, Dia would often muse during midnight cuddles about how precious and important Ruby was to her, to them both.

“Yeah,” Maru responded, “she’s really great, zura.” 

“I’m so glad that you two get along so well,” Ruby stated plainly, stifling a yawn. “Good night,” she then muttered sleepily.

Hanamaru reciprocated the statement, turning on her side so she could carefully observe Ruby, waiting for the indicators of sleep. It didn’t take very long; Ruby was one of the blessed few who slept ridiculously easily once exhaustion had its firm grip on them. 

“Ruby,” Hanamaru called softly, testing the waters. She didn’t budge. “Ruby,” she tried again.

When she didn’t move the second time, Maru quietly slipped out of her place and snuck out of the room. Dia was waiting in the hall, arms crossed, looking for all the world like she was about to bite someone’s head off…until she laid eyes upon Maru and broke out into a wide, open smile. She kept her arms crossed until Hanamaru walked up to her and leaned her weight against her, confident the wall would keep them upright. Dia wrapped her arms almost cautiously around her love, gently nudging the top of Maru’s head with her nose. Acknowledging what the cute gesture meant, the younger girl tilted her head up, kissing Dia softly.

“Let’s go,” she whispered with gentle, unhurried innocence of a young love. She took Dia’s hand and began guiding her towards her room, “I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve missed your warmth, zura.”

As they got to Dia’s room, Dia pushed Hanamaru playfully towards the bed; a gentle shove, free of malice and any kind of roughness. Maru exaggerated the movement, pretending to trip and fall; as she did so, she took hold of Dia’s wrist, pulling her down on top of her as they tumbled onto the bed. Dia laughed, a hearty, mirthful sound, holding herself up above her partner. She continued laughing until Maru reached up and caressed her cheek, settling into cupping it as she slowly guided Dia’s face down towards hers. Their lips met like a youthful fire; roaring, threatening to engulf the entire planet if it isn’t tamed, kept under a close control. However, there was no one and nothing there to keep this one contained as they lost themselves within the kiss. 

Except, perhaps, Hanamaru yawning into Dia’s mouth mid-kiss. They broke apart, Maru rapidly trying to cover her mouth in shame, Dia giggling at how inexplicably cute her lover was turning out to be. With a resigned yet playful sigh, Dia let herself fall to the side so she could be beside Hanamaru.

“I suppose,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around Maru in a comforting embrace, “that we should actually try and get some sleep.”

“Okay, zura,” she answered, stifling another yawn as she hugged Dia’s arms around her. “Just don’t let me wake up big spoon again, okay?”

“I promise,” Dia murmured, kissing the back of Maru’s head. “Good night.”

The two fell asleep as such, holding one another. The night should have passed by peacefully…

…Until Dia was roused from sleep to the sound of soft, quiet crying. It was clear that Hanamaru was trying her best not to wake Dia up, but between the sobs and the subtle shaking of her body, it was a given. Dia tightened her hold on Maru, kissing her softly, on the back of her head, her hair, the lobes of her ear. They were tiny kisses, meant as a quiet reassurance. She felt Maru stiffen, likely shocked that she’d woken up Dia, considering the effort she’d put into letting her sleep.

“What’s wrong, bookworm?” Dia asked lovingly, trying the teasing pet name for the first time.

“I just had a nightmare, zura,” Hanamaru managed through barely controlled sobs.

“Tell me about it?” Dia asked, planting more soft kisses in between the words.

“Well,” Maru started, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “I dreamt that Ruby found out about us, zura. But she didn’t like it. She lost her cool, I don’t even think that’s possible for her, and she yelled at you. Then, she told me that I was even worse than you could possibly be, she told me she hated me and she never wants to see me again because it disgusted her that I could love her sister like that,” she finished, crying even more now, the recital of the dream bringing back the vivid emotion of it.

“It’s been bothering you that much, huh?” Dia inquired quietly. With a nod, Hanamaru tried to move even closer, bringing her body in as near Dia’s as she could, which prompted Dia to hold her tightly, running one hand up and down her arm in a soothing, comforting motion. “If that’s the case, then, I’ll tell her tomorrow,”

“No,” Maru said with resolve, choking back another sob, “I’ll tell her, zura. ‘I fell in love with your big sister’ is a little less creepy than ‘I fell in love with your younger best friend,’ wouldn’t you say?”

“Of course,” Dia giggled in response, “then in that case, let’s go back to sleep and we can deal with this in the morning.”

Maru nodded, and in response, Dia started singing, quietly. She wasn’t sure why she started doing. If she had to guess, she’d assume it was equal parts love for singing, equal parts love for Hanamaru. Aqours had brought light and happiness back into her life, had allowed to find her voice again. Because of that, she wanted to use that voice to calm the one she loved, to soothe her back to sleep.

In response, Hanamaru gasped inaudibly, whispering a quiet ‘I love you’ so as not to interrupt Dia’s song. It made her unreasonably happy to know that her lover had two voices: the strong, valiant voice of the school idol, and this voice that reverberated with the sound of love that was kept just for her. The warm comfort of that thought, combined with the song pouring from Dia’s lips, put Hanamaru back to sleep in almost record speed.

Morning came far too quick, forcing Dia and Maru to break the comfort of their hold on one another so that Maru could sneak back to Ruby’s room before she woke up. Hanamaru gave Dia one last, quick kiss before she left, crawling into bed and pretending to be asleep just as she saw Ruby beginning to stir. Before long, the red-haired girl was shaking her awake, yawning from some small vestige of sleep exhaustion.

“Wake uuuuuuuuuup,” she whined softly, nudging Maru.

With a groan, Maru turned over and opened her eyes, exaggerating every movement to make it seem like she had just woken up. Grinning, she reached up and tickled Ruby, thinking that that would wake her up and, if nothing else, be an entertaining way to kickstart the day.

“Hey,” Maru started, “once we’re all ready and fully awake, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure,” Ruby managed excitedly between gasping for air, attempting to recover from the tickles.

A short while later, the girls found themselves opposite one another just outside the Kurosawa house. Ruby seemed as cheerful as always, as if she were expecting Hanamaru’s revelation to be something positive and fun. Maru, on the other hand, was fidgety and anxious, trying to piece her words together in her head while she worked up the courage to speak.

“So,” wondered Ruby, “what did you want to talk about?”

The smile she gave Maru, that bright, energetic smile that was always so infectious, broke Maru; it made all the memories of the nightmare come flooding back. At the same time, however, it gave her the courage to speak up. It was unfair, she realized, that Ruby had so much trust in her and yet she couldn’t even tell her this one secret.

“You see,” she started nervously, “the thing is, that I kind of…” she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

“Hmm?” Ruby goaded, leaning slightly forward as if to entice the words out of Hanamaru. The behaviour, in and of itself, was suspicious.

“I’m in love with your sister and we’re dating, zura,” Maru managed to blurt out, saying it as one solid chunk rather than a coherent sentence.

Ruby started laughing. Hanamaru couldn’t help but stare at her, dazed. She had been worrying, for weeks now, that Ruby would reject the idea. She had cried herself to sleep in her lover’s arms and at her lover’s song to the idea that Ruby would reject the idea…yet, here she was, laughing as pleasantly as could be expected from Ruby Kurosawa.

“I knew that,” she teased. “How couldn’t I? The way you two look at each other now, and how you’ve been coming to sleep over more often. Or you sneaking out in the middle of the night only to come back in the morning, before I wake up. I mean, sure, it could’ve worked, but I don’t sleep like a rock THAT often,” Ruby emphasized.

“So…” Maru said, nervous.

“It’s fine. If it bothered me, I would’ve said something in the beginning. Instead, I get to see my sister happier than she’s ever been, and I get to see my best friend more often than usual. It’s really a win-win situation for me,” Ruby giggled, running forward and crashing into Hanamaru with a hug.

Unable to help herself, Hanamaru wrapped her arms tightly around Ruby and whispered a very relieved thank you as she began to cry. She glanced confidently towards the doorway, where Dia had been lurking in order to eavesdrop, only to be met by her elegant smile.

It seemed everything was going to turn out alright.


End file.
